Prescott to be blamed for Labour poll woes

Tony Blair has launched a 'blame Prezza' operation to make his disgraced deputy carry the can for Labour's local election disaster.

Ministers have been briefed to blame bad results on the headline stories of John Prescott's affair with Tracey Temple.

As Labour seats tumbled, pressure mounted on Mr Blair to go this year.

Initial indications suggested the Prime Minister's Labour critics will have plenty of ammunition this morning to call for a change at the top.

A BBC poll last night showed half of voters want the Prime Minister to resign by Christmas - and more than two thirds think his Government is more sleazy than the Tories.

Labour was putting its MPs on standby for electoral disaster amid widespread evidence that supporters will punish Mr Blair for a string of scandals.

The operation to spin him out of an electoral disaster will begin today when defeated council leaders will be briefed to present defeat as the voters' punishment for Mr Prescott's behaviour.

The Deputy Premier himself has signed up to the plan and agreed to a 'confessional' interview with the BBC's Andrew Marr on Sunday.

He will then tour the country to apologise to Labour councillors who have lost their seats. But Mr Prescott will keep his job and his sprawling Whitehall empire.

'Inappropriate behaviour'

He faced yet more embarrassment yesterday, however, when it emerged that his department is to give staff special training to help deal with 'inappropriate behaviour in the workplace'.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, responding to a scathing report by MPs that it was riddled with bullying and intimidation, also promised to treat all employees with "dignity and respect".

A leaked survey of staff had described Mr Prescott's department as unfocused, lacking leadership and comparable to a "pantomime horse".

Today Mr Blair is expected to assert his dwindling authority by using a snap Cabinet reshuffle to divert attention from the scale of Labour's losses and head off demands for him to quit.

He will bolster beleaguered Home Secretary Charles Clarke in his job while carrying out a number of changes in key portfolios.

Mr Blair calculates that by starting his fightback this morning, he can pre-empt his critics with a show of decisive leadership.

Possible Cabinet changes include switching Alan Johnson to Health and John Hutton to Education. Junior ministerial changes would be announced Monday. Disgruntled backbenchers will spend the weekend examining the results before deciding whether to launch a challenge.

With Labour slumping in the polls and the Government buffeted by near-daily crises, Mr Blair is under pressure to set an early departure date, to give Gordon Brown a chance to restore the party's fortunes.

The Premier is due to appear before his MPs at the weekly meeting of Parliamentary Labour Party on Monday - the first time they have gathered to discuss party affairs since the shocks of Mr Prescott's exploits and the scandal of released foreign criminals.

Government Whips fear a senior figure could use last night's results as a reason to call publicly on Mr Blair to stand aside, triggering leadership speculation.